And they were geeking out in Orlando (Florida,) as they analyzed the trailer frame-by-frame.

From those there, who have analyzed the trailer, to those here who have not.

1st. Since Frank Oz is being associated with the film, there is the rumor that Yoda will appear as a Force Ghost.

2nd. They listen to their fans.------New film toys for the boys . . . and the girls.------Snoke is now a puppet. Literally. Where he was CGI in the previous film, he is now a puppet.

3rd. For those of you have seen Looper, then note the similar scenes in both films.

4th. The film will not be as dark as 1st thought when the writer/director was 1st associated with the film.

5th. Note the cinematography. It is getting a lot of praise. So much that it may be nominated for an Oscar at next year's Academy Awards.

6th. Despite their nonchalance, so much was riding on this film, I can imagine they were sweating blood. No wonder the writer/director was almost in tears o'er the fans acceptance of the trailer.

As for myself, who has not analyzed the trailer, normally I can look at a trailer and know I will like the film or not like the film. Not this one, maybe because it strikes me as different from the other Star Wars episodes, and while I am not opposed to liking it, I want to see the film, before I definitely make up my mind. Though, I do like what seems to be the film's concept, that Luke and Rey stay on the isle, while Finn, Maz, Leia, and Poe and Hux, Phasma, Ren, and Snoke circle around them.

As to what films are upcoming, we may get some answers to these questions, at the upcoming summer's D23 Expo in Anaheim (California.)

1st. What will be the title of the Han Solo solo film?

2nd. As it almost assured, that we'll get an Obi Wan Kenobi solo film, when will it be out? The most likely date is 2020, and will Ewan McGregor play Obi Wan?

4th. Will we get a Mace Windu solo film with Samuel L. Jackson playing Mace?

5th. Will we get something on TV before 2023? Such as Star Wars : Underground in 2018.

And as a voracious reader, for me one of the most interesting items is the almost 2 dozen Star Wars books and comic books coming up in the near future. And while there are apparently none geared to adults, half seemingly geared to teens and half to pre-teens, with almost 60% being fiction and the other 40% being non-fiction, that does not mean that they are not worth checking out.

Well, now that we are getting closer to its release date of December 15, 2017, fans are scrounging thru all the previous films, trying to find some clue as to Rey's parentage before the film opens. Right now there are 4 theories as to who her parents were, and from most popular to least popular . . .

I. Still, and my favorite, Luke is her father.

II. Becoming more popular, Obi Wan Kenobi is her grandfather.

III. Rey and Ren are not only cousins, but brother and sister, or, at least, half brother and sister, as her father is Han Solo.

IV. Her grandfather is Emperor Palpatine.

Lucas Films apparently listens to its fans, which is why we might be getting an Obi Wan Kenobi solo film in 2020. Which is why the Boba Fett film is back on track, and that Darth Vader may even get his own solo film. Which apparently puts a kibosh to the idea that Lucas Films would take a break from Star Wars in 2020. It seems they don't want to lose the momentum they have going.

And talking about Han Solo, now that that character has met his end in Episode VII, Harrison Ford is said to be interested in coming back as Indiana Jones in the 5th film in the seried. A releasr date in July, 2020, has already been set. With Steven Spielberg directing. And while Ford is the only cast member projected to be in the film so far, John Rhys Davies has expressed an interest in returning as Sallah.

Only one piece of news about Episode VIII.12/15/17 is the release date, and--apparently--is the last Star Wars film to be released in December.From now on, beginning next year, all Star Wars films are to be released in May.They say: "May the 4th."I say: "The competition for the box office $ is less in May than in December, when you have all the Academy Award wannabes jockeying for position.

As for the other . . .

The Star Wars Celebration for this year has come and gone, and while the 70,000 who attended, pales next to the 167,000 who attend the San Diego Comic Con, it is still the best attendance at a Star Wars Celebration to date, which makes me wonder, why there won't be one next year, as the next Celebration won't be to 2019. Which leaves the question, where will it be? As both Star Wars Lands at Disneyland and Walt Disney World will be up and running, supposedly, that year.

That is also the year the biennial D23 Expo will be back, and as that is always held in Anaheim (California,) I can see the Star Wars Celebration being held in Orlando (Florida) again.

We should be getting more news about Episode VIII and the future of Star Wars, as Lucas Films, will be out in full force at the expo, as will Marvel Studios. The Expo will run from July 14-16, or the weekend before the San Diego Comic Con, which is July 20-23, 2017. If you want to be there in person, all the tickets for that day or Saturday have already been sold. Though, apparently, there are still 3-day passes still available that will get you into the Center. Though, whereas in the past, all the tickets sold out 2 weeks before the Expo, they have now sold out, because of the demand, 2 months before the Expo. Which is why, they suggest if you want to get into the auditorium to see the presentation in person, it'll probably be streamed live thru out the Center, they suggest instead of getting in line at 5:00 a.m., they suggest you get in line at 12:01 a.m., to see the presentation, by both Lucas Films and Marvel Studios and the other live-action films from the House of Mouse, which begins at 10:30 am.

And when asked why he made this film, or, actually started, what became a film franchise, Lucas has said, one of the reasons, he did it, is to act as a moral compass to tell kids what to do and what not to do, then you see all the little ones dressed as little Storm troopers -- as little Orson Krennics -- as little Kylo Rens -- as little Darth Vaders -- and little Boba Fetts. Obviously, someone did not get the message.

A new addition coming?Is it a boy?A fan of Star Wars?Then name it Kylo.

Kylo. The fastest rising boy's name in the U.S.2015. 3269th most popular2016. 901st most popular.Up 2368 spots.

What ever one thinks of the name of Kylo, it can't be as bad Tinn Cann. The surprise is not that someone name their son Tinn Cann. The surprise is that at the time there were 2 Tinn Canns in the U.S. We'll have to see whether this year's Episode VIII boosts the name of Kylo in popularity.

How old Kylo? Kylo fine. How you? No, but while reading the above, I did find an answer to my question as to how old was Kylo in Episode VII?If the battle of Endor was year 0, then Episode was 30 years later or year 30.And apparently Kylo was born in year 0 or the year thereafter, so he'd be 29 or 30 in Episode VII. Which would put him close to Poe who was apparently 32 in Episode VII.

Rey, on the other hand, was born 11 years after the Battle of Endor or year 11. Which would make her 19 in Episode VII or still a teenager.

Of course, for every question I find the answer for, 2 more questions pop up. For example . . .When did Kylo betray Luke?And when did he begin his training with him?

One possible answer is if Kylo's treachery is what brought Rey to Jakku, who has apparently been there for a decade, then the treachery occurred when Rey was 9 or in year 20. Which would make Kylo 19 or 20 or as old as Rey is now. Which makes it possible that Kylo then began his training with Luke a year or two ere he betrayed him or when he was 17 to 19. We'll no doubt find out more when Episode VII is released later this year.

Which means Mace Windu is the latest Star Wars character to get his own series of comic books--5 issues beginning the August of this year or 2017. Cassian and K2SO also get their own single, stand-alone comic book in August. And Captain Phasma also has her own series of comic books coming out this year. And I wonder if Kylo will get one, as there is an interesting story there (IMHO.)

Some people have said that they have seen Yoda in Episode VIII, and they may be right, as it is rumored that Yoda is to appear in the episode. Most likely as a Force Ghost.Snoke channels Darth Vader's sayings.And Kylo becomes more like his grandfather.But . . .

The best information about the upcoming film is "everyone feeding on everyone else, but everybody benefits," as Vanity Fair comes out with a 4-covered summer issue with behind-the-scene photos and a background article on the film.1 with Leia.1 with Luke and Rey.1 with the Light Side: Finn, Poe, and Rose1 with the Dark Side: Hux, Kylo, and Phasma.

The "only bad publicity is no publicity," as the House of Mouse gets some "free" publicity for its upcoming film.Photographer Annie Leibovitz gets another well-paying gig.Vanity Fair gets an issue that they hope people will buy 4 times over.And its readers get some new information on what the film may contain.

I must say that with the masks off. The most interesting characters (IMHO) are the Dark Side characters, but I have always had a soft spot for the villains in a story.

I have stayed away from rumors, as they change every 5 seconds, but there is one rumor I hope is true. Supposedly, the film ends with a 3-way throw down between Rey, Luke, and Finn and Ren, Snoke, and Von. And if you wondered, as I did, who is Von, that's Benicio del Toro's character in the film.

The Star Wars special issue of Vanity Fair is now out, and while there is not much in the way of new news, there are several color photos of what the aliens will look like.

One more piece of news.

2017 Episode VIII2018 Han solo film2019 Episode IXand 2020 while it is possible we will get an Yoda or a Boba Fett solo film, the most likely film will be an Obi Wan Kenobi solo film with Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan.

That's why the big people get the big money to make the big decisions.

The old directors are out, and a new director is in. I won't say that he's better than the directors he replaces, but he does have an Oscar for his work on A Beautiful Mind. I will say that he probably has had more experience, as he's been a director since the 1970s, and he was an actor for a couple of decades before that. Of course, I mean Ron Howard is now the director of record for the Han Solo film.

Even with the change in directors, they think they can keep to the scheduled date of release of May 25, 2018.

Some more news about Episode VIII. We should get a new trailer later this month. The question is whether there will be any new footage, or whether it'll just contain footage that we have already seen.

The worst kept secret in Hollywood has been confirmed. Tom Hardy is to appear in the film as a storm trooper who knew Finn from the past and runs into Finn again, while Finn is on an undercover assignment.

Much to people's disappointment, it looks like we are not getting a new trailer this month, with or without new footage. At most we will get a sizzle reel with backstage footage, which footage I think is actually more interesting than any film footage.

What we get this month is a new rumor as how many Sky walkers are in the film.

1 DefiniteRen = Han + Leia

1 PossibleRey = ? + ?

+ 2 new onesFinn = Luke + ?Lt. Connix = Leia + ?

The last is where fact meets fiction, as the actress who plays Lt. Connix is Carrie Fisher's daughter.

While the books and comic books have given us a long list of female villains, it is only now that we are seeing female villains in the films. There is Captain Phasma (more on her later) and now it looks like at least one of the Knights of Ren in the film will be a woman.

The article on the film in Vanity Fair brought something to my attention. The height of the actors in the film.

D23 Expo has come and gone, and as expected we did not get a new trailer, but instead we got a sizzler reel with backstage moments, trailer later, which probably told us more what will be in the film, then a trailer would, and which sizzler reel has been posted, with and without reactions, to a number of sites on the internet.

As an inadvertent reader what took me by surprise is how many new books=--42--are coming from the film and the Star Wars universe in general. And not only books, but also . . .activity books -- coloring books -- comic books -- cookbooks -- cross-section books -- juvenile novelizations -- model books -- sticker activity books -- and visual dictionaries.

If there is a way to make some cash, then they will find a way to make it.

The one thing--two things--we can expect is that we finally get the background of Rey and who were parents. The other thing we can expect is that this will be one of the darker Star Wars films--maybe the darkest to date.

An older rumor, but one that is interesting, is that Hux is the son of Luke and Mara Jade. Which would make Kylo Ren and Hux cousins. I can see that.

Supposedly, and this idea has been kicked around for some time, it has been confirmed that we are going to get a Boba Fett origin film. The only thing I don't see is the date of 2018. Despite the troubles it has had, the Han Solo film is still scheduled for release in 2018. Thus, the more likely date for the Boba Fett origin film is 2020, or 2019 or the date which Episode IX is set to be released, if they decide to release 2 films an year instead of 1 an year.

We should get a new teaser trailer, with new footage, either the last week in August or the 1st week in September. With the last trailer, coming in October, ere the film is released in December.

Snoke will have the largest ship ever seen in any of the Star Wars films. And Kylo Ren gets a new fighter.

The director is getting artistic. There will be a scene featuring time lapse cinematography. I was going to say I could never remember seeing a theatrical film that had time lapse cinematography, then I remembered it was used to good effect in 1960's The Time Machine.

It is going to be a crowded docket out there, as it has been confirmed that we are getting a Obi-Wan Kenobi solo film. Though, unless they start releasing two films an year, we probably won't see it to 2020. And trying to get away from the usual suspects, they are looking for director Stephen Daldry to direct. Of course, this film goes with the Boba Fett and the Yoda films that are rumored in the works.

No matter how your character is killed off in Star Wars, your character is never really dead. It is said that Harrison Ford as Han Solo will return in Episode VIII as a force ghost. And talking about Harrison Ford, 39 years after his first appearance as Indiana Jones, we are expecting him in Indiana Jones V in July, 2020

It is said that Harrison Ford as Han Solo will return in Episode VIII as a force ghost.

Where does this rumor come from? I don't believe it at all. Harrison Ford wanted to kill off Han in the original trilogy, now he managed it in the sequel trilogy. I think he's done with the character.

Actually, I don't remember where I heard the rumor, as I do not remember, where I hear most rumors, which is why I describe them as a rumor, except it was here on the internet. And we'll soon see whether the rumor is true or not, as Episode VIII is slated for release on December 15, 2017. What is not a rumor is Harrison Ford's return as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049 in October, 2017, and Indiana Jones in 2020.

One of the fiction books will be how Leia became involved with the Resistance. Why am I not surprised? What surprises me is the age--16--with which she became involved with the Resistance. That according to the book.

After that, nearer to the date of the release of the film, we are getting 7 more books associated with a galaxy far far away. Of those, the one that interests me most is the one titled Canto Bight. Is it a factual guidebook to a fictional place? A fictional history of a place we will 1st see in Episode VIII? We will see what we will see.

We know this is the 4th and last season of Star Wars : Rebels, because we have been told so by the creators of the show. We also know that there will be other animated TV shows, because we have been told so by the same creators. Though, what interests me is not so much these two facts, it is the rumor, which may be coming nearer to being a fact, is George may be finally getting what he has wanted almost since he created Star Wars, and that is a live action TV series set in a galaxy far far away. Though, the only concept I have seen for the show is one set in the under levels of Coruscant.